Prison
by WeatherWriter
Summary: Kelly visits Nick for the first time in over a year. I own nothing except for the characters I made up.


It is a typical morning in the Newman household. Ryan and Kelly are up at 8:00 am and getting their children ready for the day. They are sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast.

"I don't know, Ryan. Am I really doing the right thing?" Kelly asks with uncertainty in her voice.

"Yes. I know this can't be easy for you, but being bitter and holding everything in won't make anything better."

"It's just hard to look into the eyes of your rapist and the man who nearly killed your sister."

Ryan reaches across the table and takes Kelly's hand.

"At least Josh will be too young to remember this," Ryan tells Kelly.

"I know. I don't want him to know about Nick," Kelly tells Ryan.

"That's understandable. I never planned on telling him.

Kelly looks over and the children are finished eating.

"Wow, both of them ate everything," Kelly says in a surprised tone.

"I think that is a sign that it is going to be a good day," Ryan says, smiling at Kelly.

"I hope you're right."

Ryan gets up from the table and takes the dishes to the sink.

"I'll do the dishes, sweetie," Ryan says to Kelly.

"Are you sure? You did them last night…"

"I've got it. You can get the kids ready. How does that sound?"

That's a fair deal," Kelly says to Ryan.

Kelly lifts Josh out of his chair.

"Go to your room, please. I will be there in a second," Kelly says to Josh.

As Josh toddles off to his room, Kelly lifts Amelia out of her chair. She carries her to the nursery. While Kelly is getting the children ready, Ryan sees Wilfred standing on his back porch. He lets Wilfred in.

"So, today's the day, isn't it?" Wilfred asks Ryan.

"Yes, Ryan tells Wilfred. I am nervous for Kelly."

"She's a strong woman. She'll keep it together for Josh."

"I just worry about her sometimes. She tends to keep things bottled up inside of her until she can't handle it anymore."

"At least she is taking one step in letting go of some of her anger," says Wilfred.

Kelly comes out of the nursery with Josh and Amelia.

"Are you sure looking after Amelia won't distract you from your work?" Kelly asks Ryan.

"Not at all, Ryan tells Kelly. She sleeps most of the time."

"Well, I am going to head out."

Kelly hands Amelia to Ryan.

"Everything is going to be fine, sweetie," Ryan tells Kelly, looking her in the eyes.

"I will try to be strong."

Ryan kisses Kelly.

"Good luck."

"Thank you, Kelly tells Ryan. Come on, Josh. We're going for a ride."

Kelly and Josh leave the house. Ryan turns to Wilfred.

"I don't have a lot of work today, so after I finish we could go for a walk."

"That sounds like a great idea. How long is Kelly going to be gone?" asks Wilfred.

"A couple of hours. After she visits Nick, she's meeting her parents for an early lunch."

"That will give us plenty of time to talk," Wilfred says to Ryan.

"Can you play with Amelia until I finish?"

"Sure. Just as long as she doesn't pull my ear again."

"She doesn't know better, Wilfred."

Ryan sits down at the table and begins working on part of his case.

Meanwhile…

Kelly walks into a prison. A security guard approaches her.

"Are you Kelly Newman?" asks the security guard.

"Yes," Kelly replies. This is my son, Josh."

"Nick is ready to see you now."

"I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but did you tell him what you and I discussed on the phone?" Kelly asks the security guard.

"Yes, he replies. He will not mention to Josh that he is his biological father."

"Ok, thank you. I'm just nervous about this visit."

"I understand. Security wise, he will not be able to harm you or your son. Follow me, please."

The security guard takes Kelly to a private room.

"Are you ready to go in?" asks the security guard.

"Yes," Kelly says, taking a deep breath.

The security guard opens the door. Kelly walks in with Josh in her arms.

"Hello, Kelly," Nick says.

"Hi, Kelly quietly replies. This is Josh."

"May I hold him?" asks Nick.

Kelly sits Josh in Nick's lap. She backs away slowly.

"Hi, Josh. I'm Nick."

"Say hi to Nick," Kelly tells Josh.

"Hi," Josh says.

"He is a sweet kid," Nick says to Kelly.

"Thank you," Kelly replies.

"So, how have you been?" Nick asks.

"I've been well," Kelly replies.

"I couldn't help but notice the ring on your finger. How is married life treating you?"

"It's great. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"Josh is being taken good care of, I hope."

"Of course he is. He has a little sister now."

"Congratulations," Nick tells Kelly, very little enthusiasm in his voice.

"Thank you. Josh is being a great big brother to her."

"I'm very proud of him."

"Visiting time is almost over," the security guard says. If you have anything to say, say it now."

"You behave for your mother," Nick says to Josh. I'm glad I got to see him. Thank you, Kelly."

"You're welcome. Take care, Nick."

"Good luck with everything."

"Thank you. Say goodbye." Kelly tells Josh.

"Bye!" Josh says to Nick.

"Bye, little man." Nick says to Josh.

Kelly takes Josh from Nick and the security guard escorts her out of the room.

"Thank you for watching out for us," Kelly says to the security guard.

"It's my job, he replies to her. You did a great job handling the situation."

"I wanted to be strong for my son."

"If there's anything else you need, feel free to contact me."

"Thank you very much."

Kelly begins to walk out of the prison.

Later that morning…

Ryan, Wilfred, and Amelia (in her stroller,) are taking a stroll along the boardwalk by the beach.

"Just out of curiosity, are you planning on telling Josh that Nick is his real father?" Wilfred asks Ryan.

"We don't want him to know. He doesn't need that in his life."

"That's a good idea. He has you for a father and he sure loves you."

"I love him with all my heart. I never thought that would end up being a father."

"It was meant to happen. You are a much happier person than when I first met you."

"My journey to happiness started when I met you. You gave me the gift of friendship, which gave me confidence, and my confidence brought me the woman I love and two amazing children."

"I am very happy for you, Ryan. You know, you should give your wife a call and see how the visit went."

"I will when we find a good place to sit down," Ryan says to Wilfred.

Ryan and Wilfred walk for a few more minutes, and then sit down on a bench. Ryan takes out his phone and calls Kelly. She does not answer.

"She must still be with her parents. We'll see her when we get home. I think we should start heading back now."

Ryan and Wilfred begin walking home.

In the afternoon…

Ryan is continuing to work on his case while Amelia is playing on the floor with Wilfred. Kelly comes home a few minutes later. She sets Josh down.

"Look, Wilfred's here! Go see him," Kelly says to Josh.

Josh runs over to Wilfred and hugs him.

"Take it easy," Ryan says, laughing.

Kelly sits down on the couch. She puts her hands over her face and cries. Ryan quickly gets up from the kitchen table and sits down next to her. Wilfred continues playing with the children to distract them from their mother crying.

"Tell me all about it," Ryan calmly says to Kelly.

"The visit went ok. We made small talk. I just couldn't stand to see him holding my child."

"Hopefully you'll never have to see that again."

"Looking into those, cold, dark eyes brought back so many terrible memories."

"I know. But those days are over. You got the better life you deserved."

"I don't know what I would do without you."

Ryan embraces Kelly.

"Everything is going to be fine, Ryan tells Kelly. You've got me, your children, and the rest of your family on your side."

Josh and Amelia climb off of Wilfred. Wilfred gets up and runs into Ryan and Kelly's room.

"Wilfred, what are you doing?" Ryan asks.

Wilfred comes back into the living room with a shirt he found in the laundry. Wilfred puts the shirt over his head and starts running around the living room.

"Wilfred, drop it!" Ryan yells at him.

"It's ok Kelly says, laughing. He is cheering me up."

Wilfred runs into the table and falls on top of it.

"Maybe I should take that off. I don't want him to get hurt," Kelly says.

Kelly walks over to Wilfred and takes the shirt off of his head.

"There, now you won't run into anything," Kelly says to Wilfred. She scratches behind his ears.

A few minutes later there is a knock at the door. Kelly answers it. It is Jenna.

"Hi, I'm here to pick up Wilfred," Jenna says.

Wilfred walks over to Jenna.

"So, how was he today?" Jenna asks Ryan.

"He was no trouble. He entertained Amelia while I worked on my case," Ryan tells Jenna.

"That's great to hear. So, how was the visit, if you don't mind me asking?" Jenna asks Kelly.

"Nick was good with Josh, but it was just hard for me to make conversation with him."

"I understand. I don't think I could ever face him."

"In the end, I did the right thing. Now, I am back where I belong."

"I'm glad you think that way, Jenna says. Well, I'm going to go back home. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," Kelly says to Jenna.

Kelly closes the door behind her. She looks at her two children.

"I think they are ready for a nap," Kelly says.

"I can put them to bed since you got them ready this morning," Ryan says.

"I will help you. Then you and I can go to bed," Kelly says to Ryan, with a smile on her face.

Kelly and Ryan go into the nursery and tuck their children into their cribs. The two of them walk into their bedroom, hand in hand. Ryan closes the door behind them.


End file.
